Two Iran-aligned armed factions operating in Iraq have signaled a willingness to compromise over the future of their weapons but are still refusing to hand them over to the state, according to Iraqi sources who spoke to MBN.
The development comes as Washington presses Baghdad to ensure that any steps to bring weapons controlled by armed militias under state control are substantive rather than merely cosmetic.
Representatives of Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, both designated as terrorist organizations by the United States, have told a four-member committee formed by Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework that they are prepared to accept a formula for “regulating” their weapons rather than surrendering them, according to two sources within the framework.
One of the sources said the factions want the process to have little practical effect in their control of their weapons, and that their acceptance of “regulation” is intended primarily to avert the threat of U.S. action.
The Coordination Framework previously formed a committee tasked with mediating between the government and factions opposed to handing over their weapons. The committee includes Nouri al-Maliki, head of the State of Law Coalition; former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani; Hadi al-Ameri, head of the Badr Organization; and Humam Hammoudi, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.
The Coordination Framework has now split into two camps over the issue, the two sources said. The first wants weapons to be fully brought under state control and transferred to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The second favors regulating the weapons while allowing the factions to retain them. That camp includes Ameri, Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba.
A source in the PMF told MBN that Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba have rejected handing over their weapons to the organization.
According to Iraqi sources close to the government who spoke to MBN previously, officials have discussed an arrangement under which the factions would hand their weapons exclusively to the PMF rather than directly to the Iraqi government. The proposal was put forward by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s Parliament, during his most recent visit to Baghdad on Aug. 19.
The PMF is a formal state institution that reports to the commander in chief of the armed forces, a position held by the prime minister. It also includes Shiite factions widely viewed as aligned with Iran, including Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba.
Bringing weapons under state control would mean transferring them to an official authority that determines when and by whom they can be used. “Regulation,” by contrast, would allow the factions to retain their weapons under rules to be agreed upon.
The Iraqi government had set Sept. 30 as the deadline for ending the presence of weapons outside state control. The date also marks the scheduled end of the U.S.-led international coalition’s mission in Iraq.
The United States for months has pressed the Iraqi government to move toward disarming the factions and ensuring that weapons are held exclusively by state institutions.
A source in the office of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi told MBN that Washington had made clear to the Iraqi government that any measures taken on the issue must be meaningful. The United States, the source said, is fully aware of the details, including the number and specifications of the weapons involved.
The message has been conveyed directly to Zeidi on multiple occasions during his ongoing meetings and communications with U.S. officials, the source said.
The source said the prime minister remains committed to bringing all weapons under state control, while opponents within the Coordination Framework have argued that the appropriate formula is to regulate them instead.
The factions that continue to hold firmly to their weapons are among those with the greatest influence and closest ties to Iran, led by Kataib Hezbollah. They are also part of what is known as the “Axis of Resistance,” an Iran-led regional network opposed to the United States and Israel.
Other factions, meanwhile, have begun taking steps to hand over their weapons or place them under state authority. They include Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali, both of which are also designated as terrorist organizations by the United States.
The Iraqi government appears to have backed away from Sept. 30 as a firm deadline for the handover of weapons.
On Aug. 16, Zeidi said he would continue efforts to bring weapons under state control “even if it costs me my life.” A week later, National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji said Sept. 30 marked the end of the international coalition’s mission, not a deadline for the factions to surrender their weapons. Instead, he described it as the “starting point” for a gradual process.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
